BEIJING, August 16. /TASS/. The recent joint exercises of Chinese and Russian warships in the Gulf of Finland comply with international law and were not directed against any specific targets, said Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesman Zhang Xiaogang.

"Not long ago, the Chinese Navy ships Jiaozuo and Honghu took part in the celebration of the 328th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Navy [in St. Petersburg] and conducted joint exercises with Russian ships in the waters of the Gulf of Finland," Zhang Xiaogang said on the Chinese Defense Ministry's WeChat account. "It should be emphasized that these joint exercises are part of regular Chinese-Russian military-to-military cooperation."

The spokesman said such activities by China and Russia "are in line with international law and practice, not directed against any specific targets and are not related to the current situation in the region."

The Russian Defense Ministry said in late July, the corvette Soobrazitelny of the Baltic Fleet and the destroyer Jiaozuo of the Chinese Navy conducted joint exercises in the Gulf of Finland. The crews of the ships used radio-technical equipment to detect dummy mine barriers installed by a hypothetical enemy and destroyed them with artillery fire. They also jointly rehearsed search and rescue operations and assistance to a hypothetical surface ship that suffered damage in battle, and rescue of personnel from the water.